Village Astrologers

        Village Astrologers

In the past there was hardly any village in Kerala with its own   astrologer. He could not only predict one’s immediate future but could also glimpse into our hazy past. He did not have any crystal ball, but what he had was a fistful of perfectly formed cowries shells and a diviner’s stick. These astrologers were an indispensable part of the village life.

 The poor, the rich, the literate and the illiterate depended on them to dine their future. Their help was sought to understand the most auspicious time to start any new venture. Kings and chieftains turned to them to find the most opportune moment to launch an attack on their enemies.

These astrologers belonged to a particular community of Hindus known as the   Ganaka. In the south they are called kaniyan. Where as in the north, they are referred to as  . kanisan Many of them Sanskrit while were learned in while few excelled in the martil arts as well.

Despite their professional indispensability, these men were relegated to the lower ranks of the social order and considered as ‘untouchable’. Folklore tries to justify this paradox. The Ganakans are believed to be the descendants of a Brahmin called Thalakulathoor BhattathiriThalakulathoor Battathiripad who married a woman from a community, then considered to be untouchable. This particular Brahmin incidentally was also considered to be the founder of the system of astrology that prevailed in ancient Kerala.

 The system of foretelling the future by juggling a fistful of cowries shells and arranging  them  inside magic squares on a wooden board was popularized in Kerala by the Ganakas. This practice closely resembled the astrological systems practical in other parts of India by the jains and the Aajivakas, defunct religious group pf North India. The Kaniyans or Ganakas in all probability may be the descendants of some such sect who later came to be identified as Hindus.

A literary work of the Sangham age, Manimekhala has also mentioned has also mentioned that there were  quite a few Aajivakas residing in ancient Kodungallor. Tha jains and the Buddhists look upon the umbrella as a religious symbol. In ancient Kerala,it was the Ganakas who were invested with right to supply Palmyra parasols to temples. The Kaniyans also popularized a folk art called Kolam thullal in which the dancers wore brightly painted masks made from Palmyra sheaths.